Issue: 2022 April

Inspiration – A Time of Trial Before Us

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A season of great trial is before us. It becomes us now to use all our capabilities and gifts in advancing the work of God. The powers the Lord has given us are to be used to build up, not to tear down. Those who are ignorantly deceived are not to remain in this condition. The Lord says to His messengers: Go to them and declare unto them what I have said, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear.

The time is right upon us when persecution will come to those who proclaim the truth. The outlook is not flattering; but, notwithstanding this, let us not give up our efforts to save those ready to perish, for whose ransom the Prince of heaven offered up His precious life. When one means fails, try another. Our efforts must not be dead and lifeless. As long as life is spared, let us work for God. In all ages of the church God’s appointed messengers have exposed themselves to reproach and persecution for the truth’s sake. But wherever God’s people may be forced to go, even though, like the beloved disciple, they are banished to desert islands, Christ will know where they are and will strengthen and bless them, filling them with peace and joy.

Soon there is to be trouble all over the world. It becomes everyone to seek to know God. We have no time to delay. With earnestness and fervor the message must be given: “Ho, everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.” Isaiah 55:1. “Thus saith the Lord, Keep ye judgment, and do justice: for My salvation is near to come, and My righteousness to be revealed. Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil.” Isaiah 56:1, 2

God’s love for His church is infinite. His care over His heritage is unceasing. He suffers no affliction to come upon the church but such as is essential for her purification, her present and eternal good. He will purify His church even as He purified the temple at the beginning and close of His ministry on earth. All that He brings upon the church in test and trial comes that His people may gain deeper piety and more strength to carry the triumphs of the cross to all parts of the world. He has a work for all to do. There must be constant enlargement and progress. The work must extend from city to city, from country to country, and from nation to nation, moving continually onward and upward, established, strengthened, and settled. Testimonies, Vol. 9, 227, 228

Story – Living in a Lighthouse

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How would you like to live in a lighthouse on a rocky island several miles out in the ocean? The island is so rocky, and the wind sweeps over it so fiercely, that not even a tree can find a place to grow. Wild storms dash the waves up on the rocks until they have worn great chasms in the cliffs.

No one lives on the island except the one family who keeps the lighthouse. You would have no children to play with except your own brothers and sisters. There is no schoolhouse, no store, no church—not another house but the one in which you live with your father and mother. Would it be a lonely place?

Yet, when Celia Thaxter was a little girl, she lived in just such a place as this. Her home was on one of the Isles of Shoals, a few miles off the coast of New Hampshire, one of the New England states. The lighthouse towered ninety feet above the waterline. Celia with her two younger brothers came to live here when she was five years old, and this was her home until she grew to womanhood.

But these children were not unhappy. To them the lighthouse seemed like some tall black-capped giant. They were filled with wonder when the lamps in the great tower were lighted and the red and gold lights swung round and round high up in the air.

Everything was strange and fascinating to the children. They liked to be lulled to sleep at night by the murmur of the great sea that encircled them. Sometimes for months, the waves dashed so furiously upon the rocks that no boat could land. So it was necessary to have enough food in the house to last the family until they could go to the stores on the mainland and buy more.

As there was no school on the island, Celia and her little brothers were taught by their father, who was a fine scholar. Often in the long winter evenings, he read to them from the best literature, and in this way Celia learned to love good poetry.

On warm spring days, the children played on the beach and gathered shells and wildflowers. Celia soon learned to know the name of every flower that bloomed on the island. They were her dearest friends. There was just one fern on the island, and this she tended with loving care.

Not many birds built their nests on the island, because there were no trees. But the little sandpipers built their nests on the ground. They were Celia’s playmates. They looked upon her as a friend. In one of her poems she tells about one of these birds that ran back and forth on the beach with her as she gathered driftwood for a fire (see on this page).

Celia spent many happy hours in watching the sailing vessels. The fascination of their wondrous grace and their mystery never lost its thrill for her. She seemed to absorb the beauty of her surroundings—the ever-changing colors of the sea; the soft skies overhead; the pools that were like bits of fallen rainbow; the wealth of the sea; filled with wonderful treasures—starfish, sea anemones, fairy shells, and all the interesting sea life.

Once after a storm the sun suddenly broke forth, and a rainbow seemed to stretch right out of heaven into the sea. Celia’s heart swelled almost to bursting with the glory of it, and she hid her face from the wonder. It was more than she could bear. She longed to speak the things which made life so sweet—to speak of the wind, the clouds, the birds’ flight, the sea’s murmur. The wish grew, and so it was that she became a poet, expressing all these things in word pictures so beautiful that they are like the work of an artist’s brush.

Celia married a man who was a missionary to the fishermen. Then, after a wonderful year of travel in Europe, she went to live on Appledore, another of the Shoal Islands. Here she had the most wonderful garden. Artists came to paint it, and she wrote a book about it called “My Island Garden.” Once, a great army of bugs and slugs descended upon her garden and began to eat it up. She wrote to some children who were her friends, to catch some toads for her. One day, a big box arrived, and when she opened it, there sat one toad in a box of dirt! She thought there must be a scarcity of toads on the mainland, or else it was a joke. But she carried the box out to her garden and put it down. In a few minutes little bright eyes began to poke up out of the dirt. There were ninety toads in the box! And they ate up all the bugs.

Celia Thaxter sleeps now on lonely Appledore, with the music of the waves always sounding over her grave. But the music of her poems about the sandpipers and the sea still lives to charm us with their beauty. As we read them, let us think of the little girl who lived in the lighthouse long ago.

Goals, True Education Series, Book 5, ©1933, 34–37

 

The Sandpiper

Across the lonely beach we flit,

One little sandpiper and I;

And fast I gather, bit by bit,

The scattered driftwood, bleached and dry.

The wild waves reach their hands for it;

The wild wind raves, the tide runs high,

And up and down the beach we flit—

One little sandpiper and I.

I watch him as he skims along

Uttering his sweet and mournful cry;

He starts not at my fitful song

Nor flash of fluttering drapery.

He has no thought of any wrong;

He scans me with a fearless eye;

Stanch friends are we, well tried and strong.

The little sandpiper and I.

 

Comrade, where wilt thou be tonight

When the loosed storm breaks furiously?

My driftwood fire will burn so bright!

To what warm shelter canst thou fly?

I do not fear for thee, though wroth

The tempest rushes through the sky;

For are we not God’s children both,

Thou, little sandpiper, and I.

Celia Thaxter

The Two Great Disappointments – Will There be a Third?

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Twice in the experiences of God’s people, great disappointment struck. The reason? The study of the Scriptures was not foremost in their experience. They chose instead to rely on the framing of God’s word by short-sighted leaders. Let’s look at two of these so that we may have help in dealing with future disappointments.

The disciples of Christ were brought up and indoctrinated with a certain view of the Messiah and His mission. For several generations, God’s people were taught to expect a conquering deliverer. The Christ they envisioned would wrestle the reins of power from their conquerors and restore the majesty and supremacy of the Jewish nation. So much was this the case, that the disciples of Jesus believed, even after nearly three years with the Master, that He would one day set Himself up as king of Israel.

At the first meeting with Jesus, Nathanael said to Jesus, “ ‘Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!’ ” John 1:49. Although this was factual in the larger sense, it shows a pattern of thought from the very beginning of their walk with Jesus. Later, pride and arrogance took root in their hearts as they argued among themselves who should be greatest. “Now there was also a dispute among them, as to which of them should be considered the greatest.” Luke 22:24. “At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, ‘Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ ” Matthew 18:1

Even John, the “disciple who loved Jesus,” and his brother vied for supremacy over their brethren. “Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, ‘Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask.’ And He said to them, ‘What do you want Me to do for you?’ They said to Him, ‘Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory.’ ” Mark 10:35–37. These unconverted men still had to learn that love for God means total submission to His will. As you can imagine, all of this did not set well with the rest of the disciples. Satan uses our basest emotions and desires to lead us away from God into his realm of supremacy. Contention and adversity are his tools. He successfully used them in the day of Jesus, and he employs them even more successfully today.

This mindset concerning superiority helped set the scene for the disappointment that the disciples would feel when Jesus was crucified. Their eyes were fixed on the greatness of Israel as the ears failed to listen to the reproofs of Jesus and the clear instruction that He must lay down His life for mankind’s salvation. They loved Jesus so much that their minds could not bear the thought of His death. However, if they had listened closely to the Master, they would have heard the words, “They will scourge Him and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again.” Luke 18:33

Many times, we bring trouble on ourselves because of preconceived ideas or because of a heart that is not fully bent to the will of God. God allows us to be disappointed and He chastises those He loves to bring them into conformity with His will. We let outside events affect the way we think or react instead of realizing that these are all distractions brought on by Satan to divert our attention from what is truly important. For the disciples, it took the death of their Master and His resurrection to bring into focus what the teachings of Jesus were all about. These men finally were subdued under the power of the Holy Spirit and their hearts were converted.

Over 1800 years later, God’s people were again brought under trial. They had again been indoctrinated with the false doctrine of Satan and their minds were dulled by conformity to the world. False teachings that the earth was the sanctuary of God blinded their eyes from seeing what was clearly written in Hebrews. “Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man.” Hebrews 8:1–2

The Sabbath had been lost sight of under the influence of the churches of the world. Clear scripture was overlooked as if God did not really mean what He said when He proclaimed His law. In remembering the law of man, they forgot to remember the law of God. Again, clearly written in His holy law was “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.” Exodus 20:8–11

Diligent Bible study had not been performed by God’s professed people to know His truth and will. Again, they relied on their leaders to guide them and assumed that they would know better than anyone what the truth was. And why not? Were they not the ministers of God? Should they not have known the truth to present it correctly to the people? How deceived we allow ourselves to become by not being like the Bereans and search the Scriptures to see if these things were true (see Acts 17:10, 11).

When the prophecies of Daniel were explained in detail and God’s people saw that a timely event was about to happen, they were then immediately interested. Many flocked to hear the words of the Bible and to listen to the prophecies of the return of Jesus. If they had known that this prophecy was not about His return, would the interest have been so high?

In the time of the disciples, the excitement of Jesus’ coming into Jerusalem and the exultation of the people thinking He would crown Himself king was similar to the fervor of activity that occurred in 1844. People flocked to the churches, selling off all that they had in expectation of the soon return of Jesus. Yet they did not look deeply into their hearts to see if they were in conformity with the Scriptures.

As with any religious movement, some are stirred by deep love for Jesus, but if we look at the result after the disappointment, the majority fell by the wayside and lost all hope. The results of false expectations are evident in both the experiences of the Jewish people and of the Advent movement. The Jews in Jesus’ day continued with their now worthless rituals and sacrifices and denounced Jesus as a false prophet.

When the time prophecy was completed in 1844 and Jesus did not come to gather His people, great despair swept over the people who were claiming to be Christ’s followers. Many forsook their convictions and either gave up totally on their Christian faith, or went back to their false religious teachers. They found comfort in their false hopes, as many do today. Similarly, during the great disappointment, people went back to their old ways of life and spoke against the prophecies of Daniel.

After the great disappointment, the word was preached with the power of the Holy Spirit, just as it had been following Jesus’ resurrection. Those who remained faithful and believed in the accuracy of the time prophecy gathered together to search the Scriptures to see where they had erred. In fervent prayer, they humbled themselves before God and asked for His guidance to understand their mistake. When they become teachable, then God sent His Holy Spirit to open for them the deep truths of God’s word. These individuals realized that they needed divine guidance and poured out their hearts in much prayer and with much study until God opened their eyes to the truths that were plainly written.

How often we want God’s help but do not apply the effort through study and prayer. Even today we still have our preconceived ideas of the return of Jesus.

In the 1980s and 1990s, there was a revival and reformation movement within Adventism that went around the world. Elder Ron Spear and others traveled worldwide preaching revival and reformation and showing from the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy what needed to happen in our lives if we were going to be ready for Jesus to come. Every revival and reformation is either growing or declining—revival and reformation cannot be stagnant.

The revival and reformation movement in Adventism reached a high point in about 1990 and then entered a period of decline. Shortly after 2000, it had totally collapsed in the United States. Why did this happen? There are several reasons, but one is for the same reason that the second advent movement collapsed in 1844. There were those who expected that certain final events leading up to the second coming or possibly the second coming itself would occur before the year 2000. Various dates such as 1987, 1988, 1991, 1994, 1996 or 1997 were proclaimed far and wide by both Adventist preachers and laymen as significant dates for Christ’s return (based on jubilee cycles and other Biblical dates). But when these dates passed with no significant event or Christ’s coming, the revival and reformation movement collapsed.

What will be the result if, as in ages past, we miss the last great event that is to happen on earth because we did not study His holy word? Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. … This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die.” John 6:48, 50. By eating this bread, which is the word of God, we make it part of ourselves and only then can God bring it back to memory in our times of trouble. If we do not know God’s truth for ourselves, when the great trial comes upon all mankind we will be deceived and end up in ruin.

Jesus said in Matthew 24:24, “For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.” Many of God’s people today believe they will not be deceived. They have studied the prophecies in the past and are satisfied that they know the events that will happen before Christ’s return. They find no need to look at it again, and like the Jews of old, they are set in a belief that their leaders will not lead them astray. Yet, this is the very thing that Peter warns us about in his epistles. “But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.” 2 Peter 2:1

Some may say “our leaders do not deny Jesus, but teach His goodness.” Paul gave a warning to the Galatians when he said, “I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ.” Galatians 1:6, 7. I have had the opportunity to visit churches in America and the Philippines. What I have seen over the years has astounded me. These are God’s professed people, yet their services are whittled down to traditions and religious forms, none of which glorify the Lord. Yes, they speak of Jesus, and yes they use scriptures and excerpts from the Spirit of Prophecy, but the content left me dry and unfed.

My wife and I have often gone home after some Sabbath sermons and spent time reading or listening to the Bible because we felt we had just been starved in the service. We have witnessed evangelical services, catholic-style preaching, and sermons on how to stay safe from Covid or some other disease. Little was mentioned of Jesus, nor were our hearts convicted of sin. The Holy Spirit was absent from the service. How do I know that? Because Jesus plainly said, “And when He [the Holy Spirit] has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.” John 16:8

Will there be a third great disappointment? The answer is yes. The difference is that then there will be no chance to repent and claim the grace of Jesus. Probation on this earth will be closed and those who are found wanting will lose the most precious gift God ever gave mankind.

For over 6,000 years God has poured out His love to us. He has sent holy angels to guide us into His truth. In the sacrifice of His Son, God gave us heaven’s most precious gift and He promised His Holy Spirit to all who would submit to His will.

We talk a lot about freedoms in America and other countries, yet the one freedom that will give us eternal life is the one that is rejected. In the end, civil freedoms that can be given or taken away will not matter. They are the distractions of Satan to divert our minds from what is truly important—the cleansing of our souls through the regeneration of the Holy Spirit. This will be an everlasting freedom; this washing of our character will transform us to be fit for the kingdom of God. That is the only kingdom I care to pursue.

Prepare now so that you will not be involved in a third great disappointment.

Michael C. Wells is the director of Anointing Oil Ministries.

Choices

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Scripture tells us that there is nothing that can separate us from the love of God. “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38, 39

Other scriptures tell us how much He loves us:

“You did not choose Me, but I chose you … .” John 15:16

“… God from the beginning chose you for salvation … .” 2 Thessalonians 2:13

“[J]ust as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world … .” Ephesians 1:4

“We love Him because He first loved us.” 1 John 4:19

“In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” 1 John 4:10

While nothing can separate us from the love of God, we can be separated from God. “When Christ took human nature upon Him, He bound humanity to Himself by a tie of love that can never be broken by any power save the choice of man himself.” Steps to Christ, 72

Satan will have us believe that there is no God or that if He does exist, He is a capricious, uncaring, vengeful being who is so apathetic about us that He watches from a distance, delights in our pain and misfortune, and that He even causes the difficulties that we face, sitting back to see how we will do on our own. But the Bible says that this is not true. The Bible says that God is in heaven and He loves you and that nothing can separate you from that love.

“In the work of redemption there is no compulsion. No external force is employed. Under the influence of the Spirit of God, man is left free to choose whom he will serve.” The Desire of Ages, 466

“God does not control our minds without our consent; but if we desire to know and to do His will, His promises are ours: ‘Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.’ ‘If any man willeth to do His will, he shall know of the teaching.’ John 8:32; 7:17, R.V. Through faith in these promises, every man may be delivered from the snares of error and the control of sin. … Every man is free to choose what power he will have to rule over him.” Ibid., 258

“The exercise of force is contrary to the principles of God’s government; He desires only the service of love; and love cannot be commanded; it cannot be won by force or authority. Only by love is love awakened.” Ibid., 22

“Though created innocent and holy, our first parents were not placed beyond the possibility of wrong-doing. … He [God] gave them the power of choice–the power to yield or to withhold obedience.” Education, 23

“The will is the governing power in the nature of man, the power of decision, or choice. Every human being possessed of reason has power to choose the right.” Ibid., 289

“It is not God’s purpose to coerce the will. Man was created a free moral agent. Like the inhabitants of all other worlds, he must be subjected to the test of obedience; but he is never brought into such a position that yielding to evil becomes a matter of necessity. No temptation or trial is permitted to come to him which he is unable to resist. God made such ample provision that man need never have been defeated in the conflict with Satan.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 331, 332

Again and again, the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy tell us that God loves us and wants us to love Him. He has given us the ability to either freely choose to love Him and keep His law or not. God created this world and mankind, but He knew that we could choose to give our love and service to another and in so doing, we would forfeit our lives because transgression of His law brings death (Romans 6:23). If man was to be saved from death, there had to be a plan, and so He made one.

“The plan of salvation had been laid before the creation of the earth; for Christ is ‘the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.’ (Revelation 13:8) … . ” Ibid., 63

“Before sin created the need, God had provided the remedy.” Education, 113

“That which in the councils of heaven the Father and the Son deemed essential for the salvation of man, was defined from eternity … .” Fundamentals of Christian Education, 408

“Everything that God could do has been done in behalf of man. Every want has been anticipated; every difficulty, every emergency, has been provided for.” Ibid., 251

“The plan for our redemption was not an afterthought, a plan formulated after the fall of Adam. It was a revelation of ‘the mystery which hath been kept in silence through times eternal.’ Romans 16:25, R. V. It was an unfolding of the principles that from eternal ages have been the foundation of God’s throne. From the beginning, God and Christ knew of the apostasy of Satan, and of the fall of man through the deceptive power of the apostate. God did not ordain that sin should exist, but He foresaw its existence, and made provision to meet the terrible emergency. So great was His love for the world, that He covenanted to give His only-begotten Son, ‘that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’ ” The Desire of Ages, 22.

God’s plan is perfectly expressed in the beloved scripture, “For God so loved the world, He gave His only Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” John 3:16, 17.

So it was always in God’s mind that His creation—man—would be with Him. He created him in His own image, after His own likeness (Genesis 1:26, 27). He intended that man should always be perfect, but if man made another choice, God had made a way so that he could be restored again to the perfect relationship that he held in the beginning with the Father. This is the plan of redemption. This is God’s choice. God reconciling, saving the world unto Himself.

“The plan of redemption contemplates our complete recovery from the power of Satan. Christ always separates the contrite soul from sin. He came to destroy the works of the devil, and He has made provision that the Holy Spirit shall be imparted to every repentant soul, to keep him from sinning.” The Desire of Ages, 311

“In the beginning God created man in His own likeness. He endowed him with noble qualities. His mind was well balanced, and all the powers of his being were harmonious. But the Fall and its effects have perverted these gifts. Sin has marred and well-nigh obliterated the image of God in man. It was to restore this that the plan of salvation was devised, and a life of probation was granted to man. To bring him back to the perfection in which he was first created is the great object of life—the object that underlies every other. …” Patriarchs and Prophets, 595.

It is God’s only purpose in this world to see that each and every man, woman, and child who will choose to be saved is saved. But while God is seeking man’s good, Satan is seeking his ruin. (See Education, 23.) Simply put, Satan wants you dead. He does not want you to choose to be in a relationship with God. He seeks only to destroy (John 10:10). He seeks to devour (1 Peter 5:8). He is a murderer (John 8:44).

God is seeking to save and Satan seeks to destroy. What is the result? War! Not the type of war fought with tanks, planes, guns, drones, bombs, and ships, but a war nonetheless, a great controversy for souls: yours and mine.

“The very first effort of Satan to overthrow God’s law—undertaken among the sinless inhabitants of heaven—seemed for a time to be crowned with success. A vast number of the angels were seduced; but Satan’s apparent triumph resulted in defeat and loss, separation from God, and banishment from heaven.

“When the conflict was renewed upon the earth, Satan again won a seeming advantage. By transgression, man became his captive, and man’s kingdom also was betrayed into the hands of the archrebel. Now the way seemed open for Satan to establish an independent kingdom, and to defy the authority of God and His Son. But the plan of salvation made it possible for man again to be brought into harmony with God, and to render obedience to His law, and for both man and the earth to be finally redeemed from the power of the wicked one.” Ibid., 331

Salvation is a free gift, created and administered by God, freely given to all who would accept it and apply it to their lives. As with any gift, it serves no purpose if it is not accepted or if it is accepted, but not opened. The following allegory may provide a good example to more clearly explain this point:

A young man is preparing to go off to college for the first time. With not-so-great subtlety, he suggests to his parents how much easier taking notes in class would be if he had a laptop. The big day comes and they load all of the young man’s things into the car and drive him to college. They spend the morning moving him into his dorm room and exploring the campus, but the time comes for the parents to head home. During their goodbyes, the father tells his son that they left on his desk a gift that they hope he will find useful for his studies. When the young man returns to his room, he sees the gift, wrapped in pretty paper and a bow, but he doesn’t open it, moving it instead to a shelf in the bookcase and goes on.

A couple months later during a conversation with his parents, the young man is bemoaning how difficult classes are, especially since he has to take notes by hand. The father brings up the gift (which was the requested laptop) since the son had never mentioned it. The young man admits that he found the gift, but he had never opened it. It was still on the bookcase shelf. How much easier his early college experience would have been had he opened the gift and used it.

And so it is with the plan of redemption. Unless we accept the gift and allow it to have a transforming effect in our lives, it is of no more value than the laptop on a shelf in a bookcase still wrapped in pretty paper and a pretty bow.

“Every soul has a heaven to win, and a hell to shun. … All the help Christ received, every man may receive in the great trial. The cross stands as a pledge that not one need be lost, that abundant help is provided for every soul. We can conquer the satanic agencies, or we can join ourselves with the powers that seek to counterwork the work of God in our world.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 96

[Emphasis supplied.]

Judy Rebarchek is a member of the LandMarks team. She may be contacted by email at: judyrebarchek@stepstolife.org

To Deceive the Whole World

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There are many places in the Bible where it is predicted that the last days, in which we are now living, will be the most deceptive time in world history; a time in which the whole world will be deceived. Many people question these prophecies. With all of our knowledge and technology, how is it possible that everyone could be deceived? The Bible tells us:

  1. Who started the deception
  2. How it started
  3. How to recognize it

Second Peter 2:4 says, in part, “[G]od did not spare the angels who sinned … .” Notice, human beings in this world are not the only intelligences that have sinned. This scripture says that there was a group of angels who also sinned. Who led these angels into sin? Jesus Himself tells us in Matthew 25:41: “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.’ ” The fire spoken of in this scripture was prepared for the devil and his angels.

The devil is known by a number of different names throughout the Bible. Revelation 12 calls him “the great dragon” and “that old serpent” because he spoke to Eve through a snake in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3). He is called Lucifer in Isaiah 14. He is most commonly referred to by his Hebrew name Satan. The word Satan simply means the adversary. Many have asked why God would create such a being. Satan wasn’t always Satan. God didn’t create Satan, but He did create a covering cherub. We find a description of him in Ezekiel 28:13–15, “You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering … . You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; you were on the holy mountain of God; you walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you.” This angel was perfect, a high and exalted angel, until iniquity was found in him.

If Satan was a perfect creation, a high and exalted angel in heaven, then how did he fall? Isaiah 14 holds the answer, beginning with verses 12–14: “How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’ ” Ezekiel 28:17 says further, “Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor … .” So we see that Satan was proud and as a result, he desired to be like God Himself.

Solomon tells us in Proverbs 16:18, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” The Bible describes this conflict in Revelation 12:7, 8: “And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer.”

So Satan, the great dragon, that serpent of old, the devil, was cast to the earth, and a third of the angels of heaven were cast out with him (Revelation 12:9). This verse also tells us that Satan and his angels will deceive the whole world. Someone might say, that just isn’t possible today, but we will see as we continue just how possible it is.

We find that Satan’s pride caused him to sin in heaven. To justify his sin, he pursued the other angels in heaven in an effort to cause them to rebel against God’s government as well. He succeeded with a large group of the angels, but sin cannot exist where God is and so there was war in heaven. Satan and the angels who followed him in his rebellion were cast out from heaven to this earth.

After Satan was cast out of heaven, he tempted Adam and Eve to sin; they were overcome by him, yielding to his temptation, disobeying God, and becoming the world’s first sinners. Second Peter 2:19 tells us, “By whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage.” Paul says the same in Romans 6:16: “Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?” When God created Adam, He made him the steward over all of creation. When Adam and Eve sinned, as a consequence, Satan declared himself the ruler of this world. He had usurped man’s dominion over the earth and now considers this world as his kingdom, and he is referred to in this manner in many places in the Scriptures. Notice what he says of himself to Jesus “ ‘All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.’ ” Luke 4:6

We find in the book of Job a microcosmic example of what the devil has been doing in this world for millennia. “Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them.” Job 2:1. Satan has appeared before God along with the representatives of the other worlds, as the representative of this world. “And the Lord said to Satan, ‘From where do you come?’ So Satan answered the Lord and said, ‘From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.’ ” Verse 2. Throughout the book of Job, we find that Satan tempted and tortured Job beyond imagination in an effort to cause him to sin. But we also find that Job did not sin, no matter what Satan did to or took from him. “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.” Job 13:15, first part

In this same way, Satan has tempted and tortured all of mankind throughout the history of the world. But the Bible says that this will one day be over. When Satan instigated and achieved, through the children of Israel and the Roman government, the crucifixion of Jesus, he was no longer the representative of this world. Jesus had ransomed the world. This was Satan’s second fall, alluded to by Jesus when He said, “Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler [prince] of this world will be cast out.” John 12:31. Satan’s final fall and destruction are yet future.

To understand how Satan has deceived the people of the world for so long, let us look at his character, for those who believe and follow Satan will be and are like him. First John 3:8 says, “He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.” Satan sinned from the beginning and all of his works are sin. Jesus described Satan in this way: “You are of your father the devil, and the desires [the lusts] of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.” John 8:44. He is the father of lies and a murderer from the beginning. He lied about God to the angels in heaven, he lied to Eve (Genesis 3:4, 5), and he continues lying to mankind today. This is just one of the methods he uses to lead men and women to sin. And the Bible tells us that the wages of sin is death; so by deceiving and leading people to sin, Satan is a murderer. Lying and murder are the two most hateful sins in the eyes of the God of truth. In fact, they are so horrible that we are told three times in the last two chapters of Revelation that no liar will be with God’s children in eternity.

The floodgates of evil have been opened upon this world and the Bible predicts in both the Old and New Testament that evil will reach a level never reached before. Second Thessalonians 2:9–12 describe it this way: “The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” People are going to believe a strong delusion and will be deceived by miraculous workings by Satan and his demons.

Friends, we are living in a time when this is happening, and yet there are many people who do not even believe that the devil exists. The fact of the matter is that no one is in greater danger from the influence of evil spirits than those who, notwithstanding all the evidence and testimony of the Scriptures, deny the existence and agency of the devil, his angels, and evil spirits. As long as we are ignorant of their wiles, they have an almost inconceivable advantage. Oftentimes, people give heed to their suggestions thinking that they are just following the dictates of their own reason or their own mind. This is why Satan will work with greater power than ever before in this world to deceive and to destroy mankind. It is his determined purpose that the world should not believe that he exists or that they be aware of his devices. He endeavors to make people believe he isn’t real or that he is a figment of the imagination or that he is some mythical creature.

It is only by the study of the word of God and the Spirit of Prophecy, and being in regular prayer that we can avoid the deception that has taken the world unawares and will only become more deadly as we draw nearer to the coming of Jesus. “All who do not earnestly search the Scriptures and submit every desire and purpose of life to that unerring test, all who do not seek God in prayer for a knowledge of His will, will surely wander from the right path and fall under the deception of Satan.” Prayer, 25

“He who carefully studies the word of God and brings its holy principles into his daily life, making every thought, word, and deed subject to its control will be a man of discernment; he has spiritual eyesight; he is not ignorant of Satan’s devices. The love of God is in his heart, and he loves his fellow men.” The Present Truth, January 26, 1893

If we love God and our fellow man, then we must study and share the gospel as we never have before, because in order to see Satan’s deceptions for what they are, they, and we ourselves, must first know what the truth is. We cannot fully recognize evil, neither that which is in the world nor that which is inside us, until we truly know what goodness looks like. This comes by beholding Jesus.

“Those who labor in word and doctrine have a great work before them to tear from the minds of those for whom they labor the fatal deceptions of Satan, and to impress them with the importance of aiming to reach God’s great standard of righteousness. They should pray earnestly for divine enlightenment, and for wisdom to present the truth as it is in Jesus.” Historical Sketches of the Foreign Missions of the Seventh-day Adventists, 122

Pastor John J. Grosboll is Director of Steps to Life and pastors the Prairie Meadows Church in Wichita, Kansas. He may be contacted by email at: historic@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.

Why the Inside Comes First

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Being ready for Jesus to come involves both inward and outward preparation, but what happens in the heart is the most important, and therefore must occur first.

In Psalm 24:3–5 we read: “Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.”

Notice, there are two parts to the preparation for heaven. One is the need to have clean hands. This represents the outside of your body—what you say and do, what other people can see. It is important that your hands be clean, that you have done or said nothing that is contrary to the law of God, but that is not enough. You also must have a pure heart, because how we are on the inside eventually will be manifested on the outside.

Jesus was very particular in Matthew 23:25 about the need to be clean first on the inside, and then on the outside, too. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence.” They realized that they needed to be cleaned up, but Jesus said their problem was that they were only interested in what could be seen, how good they looked on the outside, while inside they were full of wickedness. Then Jesus said in verse 26: “Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also.” Jesus was telling them that if the inside is cleaned first, then the outside will also be clean.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said that those who were clean on the inside would see God. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Matthew 5:8. A heart cleansed from all defilement is a pure heart.

What defiles the heart? Jesus has made this very clear: “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.” Matthew 15:19, 20. The heart must be cleansed of all that defiles. There are two parts to this inner cleansing process. The first part is what God does. The second part is what we do. We will look at the second part first.

The Bible clearly states that you and I have something to do so that our hearts will be cleansed and purified. John strongly expressed this when he said: “Everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” 1 John 3:3.

James 4:7–10 outline several things that we are to do: “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.”

Drawing near to God and resisting the devil are two complementary actions. You cannot resist the devil without drawing near to God first because you cannot resist the devil by yourself. But if you hang onto the things that defile the heart and stay close to the devil, then you will not draw near to God.

Then James says that we are not to be doubled minded. A double-minded person is trying to serve God and the devil at the same time. This is not possible. Remember Matthew 6:24, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”

Finally, we see that we are to be sorry and to mourn because of our defiled condition, and then humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord.

The wise man Solomon said in Proverbs 23:7: “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.” As you think, so you are. Peter said: “Therefore gird up the loins [the waist, as in putting on a girdle to control] of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 1:13. Paul said, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Romans 12:1, 2. So if we are to be purified, then our thoughts must be controlled.

Our words can affect our thoughts, so we also must be careful how we express ourselves. “[T]hat you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. Therefore, putting away lying, ‘Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,’ for we are members of one another. ‘Be angry, and do not sin’: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil.” Ephesians 4:22–27. We all have the blessings of the great mercy and love of God, and expressing our joy and thankfulness for those blessings will have an effect on our thoughts. The Ministry of Healing, 253 says, “No tongue can express, no finite mind can conceive, the blessing that results from appreciating the goodness and love of God. Even on earth we may have joy as a wellspring, never failing, because fed by the streams that flow from the throne of God.”

We must understand that our thoughts and feelings are not only encouraged, but strengthened by what we say. And since our hearts are defiled by evil thoughts, if we want to gain control of our thoughts, we should be expressing thankfulness and rejoicing to the Lord for His blessings and this will change our thoughts from evil to good.

A Christian life is revealed by Christian thoughts, words, and deportment. If we consecrate ourselves to the Lord every day, choosing to obey His law, then our choice will purify our thoughts. The Signs of the Times, September 1, 1890, tells us, “If your thoughts, your plans, your purposes, are all directed towards the accumulation of things of earth, your anxiety, your study, your interests, will all be centered upon the world. The heavenly attractions will lose their beauty. … Your heart will be with your treasure, … You will have no time to devote to the study of the Scriptures and to earnest prayer that you may escape the snares of Satan … .” If your only purpose is to gain money, property, position, power, fame, or success in this world, the Lord may give you all of those things, but you will become so overburdened with trying to achieve success in the world that you will have no time to devote to the study of the Scriptures and to earnest prayer. And as a consequence, you will not escape the snares of Satan.

Many have allowed their minds to dwell upon earthly things for a long time, and now they realize that if the current of their thoughts is not changed, they will be conformed to this world; there will be no transformation to ready the mind for Jesus to come. “When the mind has been long permitted to dwell only on earthly things, it is a difficult matter to change the habits of thought.” Lift Him Up, 144. Dwelling most of one’s life on earthly things will make it difficult to exclude the things of the world and think only of divine things.

It too frequently occurs that Christians gather together on Sabbath and talk about anything but spiritual things, because their minds have so long dwelt upon the things of this earth—how to make a living, a business, a job, investments, property, and other things having to do with the world. Mrs. White tells us that as long as we are in this world we will have to conduct worldly business, so these things are not evil in and of themselves. But if that is all you are thinking about and talking about, then your mind is being conformed to this world and you will not be ready for Jesus to come.

“That which the eye sees and the ear hears too often attracts the attention and absorbs the interest. But if we would enter the city of God, and look upon Jesus in His glory, we must become accustomed to beholding Him with the eye of faith here.” Ibid.

Are we filling our minds and hearts with Jesus? Are we allowing the things of this world to preoccupy our minds and thoughts so that we will not be ready to go to heaven? Are we conformed to this world?

“If we would enter the city of God,” here is how we are to do it: “The words and the character of Christ should be often the subject of our thoughts and of our conversation; and each day some time should be especially devoted to prayerful meditation upon these sacred themes.” Ibid.

If our minds are to be transformed, then we must daily spend time in meditation upon the words and character of Jesus Christ, or we will be caught up with the evil thoughts that will defile the heart and mind.

Do we spend as much time, or more, thinking and talking about Jesus Christ as we do in thinking and talking about worldly things? When a person loves someone, that someone is all they can talk about. They tell everyone about this wonderful person that they love. But here is the biggest problem for most people: though they say they love Jesus, they do not spend time in His word, nor meditate upon His character, nor talk about Him to their family and friends.

Many professed Christians are troubled because they have struggled for a long time with low and debasing thoughts. But friend, this is something you can talk about with Jesus. If you don’t want to be a victim of worldly, evil thoughts, if you want to be cleansed on the inside and be made pure, then Jesus is the only One to talk to. Only He, through the power of the Holy Spirit in the life, can change a heart so that the thoughts will reflect the purity of the soul. But Satan doesn’t want you to know this.

“… Satan has his evil angels around us; and though they cannot read men’s thoughts, they closely watch their words and actions. Satan takes advantage of the weakness and defects of character that are thus revealed, and presses his temptations where there is least power of resistance. He makes evil suggestions, and inspires worldly thoughts, knowing that he can thus bring the soul into condemnation and bondage. To those who are selfish, worldly, avaricious, proud, fault-finding, or given to detraction—to all who are cherishing errors and defects of character—Satan presents the indulgence of self, and leads the soul off upon a track that the Bible condemns, but which he makes appear attractive.

“For every class of temptations there is a remedy.” Gospel Workers, 417, 418. Praise God, there is a remedy for every temptation. “We are not left to ourselves to fight the battle against self and our sinful natures in our own finite strength. Jesus is a mighty helper, a never-failing support.” Ibid., 418.

Are you in trouble because of your thoughts and helpless to do anything about it? You need only to go to Jesus in prayer. When tempted, take your struggles to Him, for He is a mighty helper.

“The mind must be restrained, and not allowed to wander.” Ibid.

The mind is not an empty void. It must be occupied. Saying that we will no longer think about something is not the way to gain the victory in the struggle for pure and holy thoughts. The devil and his angels cannot read our minds, but they can put thoughts into our imagination. Concentrating on what we should not think about will not help us to have pure thoughts.

“The mind … should be trained to dwell upon the Scriptures, and upon noble, elevating themes.” Our High Calling, 88.

“Portions of Scripture, even whole chapters, may be committed to memory, to be repeated when Satan comes in with his temptations. …

“When Satan would lead the mind to dwell upon earthly and sensual things, he is most effectually resisted with ‘It is written.’ ” Ibid.

We must fight the battle to discipline our thoughts, to keep our minds restrained, preventing the imagination from wandering.

If our thoughts are disciplined, our words will be right. “ ‘Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.’ ” Matthew 12:33–35

“Many thoughts make up the unwritten history of a single day; and these thoughts have much to do with the formation of character. Our thoughts are to be strictly guarded; for one impure thought makes a deep impression on the soul. An evil thought leaves an evil impress on the mind. If the thoughts are pure and holy, the man is better for having cherished them. By them the spiritual pulse is quickened, and the power for doing good is increased. And as one drop of rain prepares the way for another in moistening the earth, so one good thought prepares the way for another.” The Faith I Live By, 222

What we look at and what we listen to all have an effect on our thoughts. These are the channels by which the mind is fed. The Bible is full of instruction on this point. “I will set nothing wicked before my eyes.” Psalm 101:3, first part. David understood this all too well. Keeping before ourselves violence, immoral sexuality, swearing, and drinking is evil, and what is evil is sin, and sin is breaking God’s law. It doesn’t matter how you come into contact with evil, if you are participating in evil, you are sinning. The law of the mind is that by beholding we become changed, and the more we behold evil, regardless of its form, that is what we will be like. And in the end, we will not be ready for heaven, but rather hellfire. “In that day they will roar against them like the roaring of the sea. And if one looks to the land, behold, darkness and sorrow; and the light is darkened by the clouds.” Isaiah 5:30. “Then they will look to the earth, and see trouble and darkness, gloom of anguish; and they will be driven into darkness.” Isaiah 8:22.

We are free moral agents with a responsibility over what our eyes see, what our ears hear, over everything we subject ourselves and our senses to. Satan is trying to paralyze our senses so that we will be insensitive to the warnings and reproofs sent from God. He does not want us to heed them, lest they are received in the heart and reform the life.

“My brethren, God calls upon you as His followers to walk in the light. You need to be alarmed. Sin is among us, and it is not seen to be exceedingly sinful. The senses of many are benumbed by the indulgence of appetite and by familiarity with sin.” The Adventist Home, 401

“Sin means dishonor and disaster to every soul that indulges in it; but it is blinding and deceiving in its nature … [W]e should close every avenue by which the tempter may find access to us.” Ibid., 402, 403.

We are living in a cesspool, a morally-defiled world filled with wickedness, and our only safety is to be shielded by the grace of God every moment. We must cooperate with the heavenly agencies and not be presumptuous, walking right into temptation.

We must continually be on guard, watching every avenue of the soul by which Satan may gain access. We need to avoid reading, seeing, or hearing anything that would lead to impure thoughts. We need to place ourselves and our families where we cannot watch the evil and iniquity practiced all over the world. We must guard what we look at and listen to so that the terrible things going on around us do not become the subjects of our meditation and cause us to be defiled.

Radio, television, movies, music, social media, there are hundreds of avenues by which we today can become defiled. “The lust of the eye and corrupt passions are aroused by beholding and by reading. The heart is corrupted through the imagination.” Ibid., 408. How is it with your soul? Are you being conformed to this world by the music of this world, the sights and the sounds of this world, or are you being transformed by the renewing of your mind, by beholding Christ through His word?

Clean hands and a pure heart, the two requirements to be ready for heaven. We need to be memorizing the Scriptures and studying and meditating upon the character of Christ and His words every day. We must be in control of what we look at and listen to. This is what we must do. But everything that we do will be absolutely hopeless and useless unless God does something. “In describing to His disciples the office work of the Holy Spirit, Jesus sought to inspire them with the joy and hope that inspired His own heart. He rejoiced because of the abundant help He had provided for His church. The Holy Spirit was the highest of all gifts that He could solicit from His Father for the exaltation of His people. The Spirit was to be given as a regenerating agent, and without this the sacrifice of Christ would have been of no avail. The power of evil had been strengthening for centuries, and the submission of men to this satanic captivity was amazing. Sin could be resisted and overcome only through the mighty agency of the Third Person of the Godhead, who would come with no modified energy, but in the fullness of divine power. It is the Spirit that makes effectual what has been wrought out by the world’s Redeemer. It is by the Spirit that the heart is made pure.” The Desire of Ages, 671

The heart is made pure by the inworking of the Holy Spirit. Unless you receive the Holy Spirit into your life, you will be unable to resist sin and overcome it. So we must be praying day by day that we might receive the Holy Spirit. Without this, the sacrifice of Jesus upon the cross of Calvary would be of no avail. “Through the Spirit the believer becomes a partaker of the divine nature. Christ has given His Spirit as a divine power to overcome all hereditary and cultivated tendencies to evil, and to impress His own character upon His church.” Ibid.

Human power is not enough, so Christ has given His Spirit as a divine power to overcome all hereditary and cultivated tendencies to evil, and to impress His own character upon His church.

Friend, it is important that we cooperate with the divine agencies, but what God does is vital. We can never be made pure, we can never be made ready for heaven unless the Holy Spirit works a miraculous work of re-creation in our hearts. He does not modify our old life. Instead, He makes a completely new creature. “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17.

It doesn’t matter what your past has been. If you are willing to fall on your knees before the Lord and say, Lord, I want to be born again, I want this change, help me to cooperate with the agencies of heaven, this miracle will happen in your heart and soul.

Pastor John J. Grosboll is Director of Steps to Life and pastors the Prairie Meadows Church in Wichita, Kansas. He may be contacted by email at: historic@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.

Editorial – Why the Law Cannot Be Changed

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“The kingdom of heaven is of a higher order than any earthly kingdom. Whether we shall have a higher position or a lower position, will not be determined by our rank, wealth, or education, but by the character of the obedience rendered to the word of God. Those who have been actuated by selfishness and human ambition, who have been striving to be greatest, who have been self-important, who have felt above confessing mistakes and errors, will have no place in the kingdom of God. Whether men will be honored as members of the royal family of God, will be determined by the manner in which they bear the test and proving of God that is brought to bear upon them in this life. … The laws of Christ’s kingdom are unalterable; for they have their foundation in His own unchangeable righteous character. Not one of His precepts will be weakened or altered in the slightest degree. Heaven and earth will pass away rather than one tittle of His law shall fail.” The Review and Herald, March 26, 1895

“Abraham recognized the fact that Jehovah had a law, and he determined that he would keep that law as the apple of His eye. He recognized the fact that he was amenable to the Lawgiver, and he would not be turned aside from his duty. God rules by the combined influence of authority and affection, and blessings follow in the track of those who obey His law. The Holy One has given us rules by which we are to be guided to the courts of heaven, and these rules form the standard, from which there can be no turning aside. The first principles of holiness are yet to be learned when God’s voice is not heard and obeyed as the supreme authority.” The Signs of the Times, November 14, 1895

“If you are careful, prompt, and conscientious in your homelife; if in your prayers you claim the Lord’s promises, and expect an answer; if you discharge your duties faithfully, you will not be left to stumble on in darkness. The Lord of heaven will be present with you; by His Holy Spirit He will guide you. Everyone who is to receive the overcomer’s reward must first overcome every sin; and not until he overcomes through divine grace, can he entertain hope of entering the haven of eternal bliss.” Testimonies to the Church Regarding Individual Responsibility and Christian Unity, 13